Keppel Singmarine Secures Newbuild Contracts

Keppel Singmarine, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M), has secured two contracts from Indonesian customers worth a total of about S$47 million.

The first contract is for a Coal Transshipment Barge for repeat customer PT Indo Straits Tbk, through its subsidiary company PT Pelayaran Straits Perdana and the second is for the construction of three tugboats for a new customer, an international shipping company. Mr Hoe Eng Hock, Executive Director of Keppel Singmarine said, "We are pleased with these orders from our valued customers. It is a testament to Keppel Singmarine's reputation for on time, and on budget deliveries as well as the proven track records of our project execution and technical designs."

Keppel Singmarine's contract with PT Pelayaran Straits Perdana is a repeat order of the Coal Transshipment Barge, Straits Venture, which was delivered earlier this year. Mr Richard Ong, President Commissioner of PT Indo Straits Tbk, said, "Straits Venture has been performing very well and we are confident that the second vessel will be just as successful. We look to continue this partnership with Keppel Singmarine as we expand our presence in the region and become a leading player in our segment."

Designed by Keppel Singmarine's design arm, Marine Technology Development (MTD), the vessel is capable of loading 35,000 tonnes of coal per day, and operates in open sea and difficult transshipment conditions. It will also have the flexibility to support marine offshore engineering operations in the oil and gas industry. The vessel is scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2012. Mr Hoe shared, "We hope to deepen our partnership with PT Indo Straits Tbk following our delivery of its first coal transshipment barge earlier this year. We are very pleased to continue supporting PT Indo Straits Tbk in their expansion plans."

For the three tugboats ordered, Keppel Singmarine will undertake the engineering and construction of the turnkey projects.The three vessels, consisting of two 45-tonne bollard pull tractor tugs with twin Voith Schneider Propulsion units and a 50-tonne bollard pull Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) tugboat, are expected to be delivered in the third and fourth quarters of 2012.

The ASD tugboat will also be built to MTD's design. A tugboat of similar design was recently delivered to Topahova Maritime SA of Liberia for work in Venezuelan waters in September 2011. The above contracts are not expected to have material impact on the net tangible assets and earnings per share of Keppel Corporation for the current financial year.

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